Why I Won't Use Landscape Fabric.
I dislike landscape fabric is because it inhibits soil health and microbial activity, which is the foundation of a healthy garden. Landscape fabric creates a barrier between the soil and the atmosphere, hindering the natural processes that support healthy soil and plants. This includes reducing the exchange of gases and moisture between the soil and air, which is essential for healthy microbial activity in the soil and the natural processes of nutrient cycling. After enough time having your soil covered with fabric, it eventually starves your soil microbiome and makes your plants very dependent on synthetic fertilizers. This essentially makes your garden less resilient to climatic and pest stress and makes it much higher maintenance. It will cost you more money in the long term by having to over fertilize. If you ever choose to bring your soil health back to life, it will be a years-long, expensive endeavor as healthy soil can not be created in just one or two seasons.
Harming soil health isn't the only downside to using landscape fabric.
Landscape fabric limits water infiltration by impeding the natural movement of water into the soil. This can lead to increased runoff and reduced water absorption and contributing to compaction, waterlogging, or soil erosion in heavy rain events.
The idea of landscape fabric 'stopping the need to weed' is a myth, since seasonal organic matter and detritus will accumulate above the fabric, and windborne seeds will always find a way to plant themselves and grow on top of it. Yes, even in rocks. Though I do agree that landscape fabric will successfully suppress most weeds from growing up from beneath, there are more sustainable options that can also achieve this, such as cardboard or layers of newspaper, which simultaneously suppress weeds and feed the soil microbes.
Landscape fabric alters soil temperatures by reducing the amount of sunlight the soil is exposed to, which impedes the warming of soil in the spring and delays plant growth. In high-temperature areas, since water and gas exchanges are being limited, it can contribute to the soil overheating, which will stress out plants.
Planting into and maintaining a landscape fabric garden is expensive and high maintenance as it requires to either cut specific-sized holes for all your plants to grow through or meticulously lay the fabric around the plants, both of which can potentially limit the plants ability to grow. Some gardeners put soil on top of the fabric to plant into, which ends up stunting the growth of the plants because the roots struggle to form natural connections with the beneficial soil microbes and mycorrhizal fungi. It also limits the plant roots ability to reach the underground water table, making them require more water and become more susceptible to drought stress.
Landscape fabric is never a permanent solution to weeds like it is advertised to be.
No matter the brand or type of landscape fabric you buy, it will degrade over time. When it degrades, it can be challenging to remove and will leave a lot of leftover microparticles of synthetic material in your garden.
Landscape fabric is advertised by many landscapers as a one-and-done solution to weeds in your garden, which I believe is completely false and will have long-lasting negative effects on your soil health that will take years to remedy. It's important to weigh the disadvantages against the advantages of using landscape fabric in your situation and take the time to consider a more sustainable method before making your final decision.